Mozart was considered to be the best musician/composer of all time. Mozart was a genius when it came music and composing, he was said that no other could rival him and to this day people still say that he is the best. The reason why I choose to do Mozart is the fact I do believe he is the best musician/composer of all time, and his life story is of a tragic but gifted young soul. Later on you will find out about his family, his teachings, his tragedies, and of course his accomplishments.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27 1756. His parents were Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. His dad like Mozart was a successful composer, violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court. He also had an older sister, Maria Anna (who was nicknamed "Nannerl") she played in some concerts with her brother when they were kids.
With his mother he traveled to France, where he composed the Paris Symphony (1778) but he was unable to find a permanent position. Sadly he mother died in Paris. Much later in his life his father died in Austria May 17, 1787.
Wolfgang started composing minuets at the astonishing age 5. When he was the age 6 his sister and he performed concerts in all the major cities all across Europe. Both were pianist but later on Mozart also became a violinist. His dad was a bit abusive to him because he was always drunk and made him practice all day and all night on the piano so that at age five he was able to perform those amazing minuets for the courts. In 1762 both the children played in Vienna for the Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Emperor Francis. For the next three years the two traveled and played for audiences in Germany, Paris, Versailles, and London. London was where Mozart created his first symphony and also is where he became friends with Johann Christian Bach, which had a huge impact on the influence of music on Mozart. Bach helped Mozart in many ways, he took him in and taught him songs and Mozart was able to replay the songs or tunes right after he heard them without having to look at the music and then continues the song and makes it his own.
No matter how hard something was Mozart was able to overcome, he was able to think up rhythms and chords that none have ever thought of, he was able to make such grand music that people would think of him as a god. Later in his life Amadeus wa...
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...Figaro and had only one last opera that was a success. Don Giovanni was the opera that gained him some lost respect in 1987. Sadly this was also the year that his dad died.
Mozart’s true masterpiece a requiem was never finished due to his death. He was very ill at the time and he himself could not write down his own music he had Bach help him out with it but Bach himself had troubles of keeping up with Mozart’s pace. Some say that Mozart was poisoned but later on was proven that he was not but because of this rumor his wife received none of his wealth or fortunes. He died Dec. 5 1791 from rheumatic fever, a disease which he had suffered from repeatedly through out his life. Sadly he was not liked very much as a person and had a lonely death with a cheap funeral in an unmarked grave but at that time it was illegal to have a marked grave unless you were part of the church or were of noble blood.
From what I have told in this report I hope you can realize the important of this great man and the music that he has made and why I choose him to do this paper on. Maybe now you will take a greater look at the classical music and especially the music and operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Sadie, Stanley. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Essays on his Life and his Music. United States: Oxford University Press. 1996, Print.
However, Mozart began to come across complications that threaten his musical career. In 1773, his father’s benefactor, Archbishop von Schrattenbach, died. His successor had appointed Mozart assistant concertmaster but with very little pay. However, Mozart took this time to work on symphonies, string quartets, sonatas, serenades, and operas. He wrote five violin concertos in 1776. He then wrote piano concertos like the Piano Concerto Number in E flat major in 1777.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most well-known composer of all time. Countless accounts of his life have been created through the years, and all of them approach the topic of his life with a slightly different perspective. Amadeus provides a humorous and insightful look into the life of Mozart through the flashbacks of an elderly Italian man named Salieri. In his old age, Salieri confesses to a priest that he felt God taunting him throughout life because he always had a profound appreciation for Mozart’s music, but yet could never produce anything like it. Therefore, he turned bitter and spent his life trying to ruin Mozart and his career. Through Salieri’s lense, the audience learns about Mozart’s unique personality. Mozart is shown in the movie as a musical prodigy with an impeccable ability to play and compose. However, Mozart also has a childish, socially awkward side that causes him to be misunderstood by many adults. He lacks practicality and appreciation for social graces, instead preferring to make inappropriate jokes and attend wild parties. Our class’s textbook, The Enjoyment of Music, also
Landon, H.C. Robbins. The Mozart Compendium: A Guide to Mozart's Life and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1990. Book.
Almost as soon as the cold cloths had been wrapped around his head, Mozart lost consciousness. He left no great last words; his final utterance was an attempt to express a drum passage in the Requiem, a sound that would haunt Sophie Haibel for the rest of her life. Perhaps, in his last semi-conscious moments, the sounds of the completed Requiem were sounding inside Mozart's head, the perfect performance of his final masterpiece and swan-song that would never be heard.
"The Mozart Project- Biography." The Mozart Project. mozartproject.org, 25, Apr 1998. Web. 22 Jun 2010. .
When discussing the great works and composers of the classical period, one cannot get too far without the name Mozart entering the conversation. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is arguably one of the most talented composers of the Classical period. He proved himself to be a true musical prodigy through his unique style and lasting compositions of many genres. His operas are renown as some of the most important works for the opera genre, and none more so than his opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro. Known as one of the most acclaimed and performed operas of all time, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro helped change the face of opera in the classical period.
Mozart will forever be known as one of the top five composers of all time. His influence stretches across the world and even into today’s music. The story of his life is one of fascination and mystery, but his greatness is undoubted. His story will live on through time and perhaps, inspire future musicians to be great.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are two of the greatest composers ever to write music. Both men lived in the early 18th and 19th century, but their music and influences are still felt today. The men faced similar experiences, yet they both lead very different lives. All together the pieces that these men composed amounts to over 300 published, and unpublished works of art. The people of their time period often had mixed feelings about these men, some “complained that Mozart’s music presented them with too many ideas and that his melodies moved from one to the next faster than audiences could follow, yet the ideas themselves seem effortless and natural, clear and unforced.” (Bonds 210-211) Beethoven’s criticisms ranged from ‘genius’ to grim dislike. Mozart and Beethoven were influenced by things going on around them such as: love, nature, and the Enlightenment.
In 1772, Archbishop von Schrattenbach died, to be succeeded by Hieronymus von Colloredo. The latter, at first sympathetic to the Mozarts, later became irritated by Wolfgang's prolonged absences and stubborn ways. In 1772, von Colloredo retained Wolfgang as concertmaster at a token salary. In this capacity Mozart composed a large number of sacred and secular works. Wishing to secure a better position outside Salzburg, he obtained permission to undertake another journey in 1777. With his mother he traveled to France, where he composed the Paris Symphony (1778); he could find no permanent position, however. His mother died in Paris.
At the age of the Enlightenment, Antonio Salieri becomes the most triumphant musician in the city of Vienna, however, without any warning his harmonious universe comes to an utter halt. Salieri’s absolute faith in the world, in himself, and in God is all at once diminished by this spontaneous child composer. When the two opposite ends meet, there emerges a fury, a rage, and a passion in Salieri to sabotage the boy that has secured Salieri’s deserved God given talent; to destroy the one pubescent child that has made him so mute and naked now in a world of discordance. Salieri’s entire reputation and boyhood prayer to attain fame thus rests on his ability to annihilate that child prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.In analyzing the two composers, Salieri and Mozart, there is a distinct line that clearly divides them. Salieri’s operas receive astounding receptions, making them the “talk of the city,'; shaking the roofs, buzzing the cafes, and even the name Salieri “sounds throughout all of Europe'; (2,3). The reason for Salieri’s success, as well as many musicians of the eighteenth century, is because they have become enslaved by the well-to-do and hence are “no better than servants'; (1,3). This applies especially to the king. For example, in Amadeus, His Majesty forbid any ballet in his operas. Imperial commands such as this are not to be interpreted in any way, in other words, they are to be merely obeyed without any dispute. Since operas tend to the needs of the high society in order to obtain recognition, the operas must communicate through the language of the nobility, that is, Italian. In addition, since the majority of the audience is made up of the upper class, the subject matter of the operas must consist of elevated themes. Such as, mythological heroes, kings, and queens, and so forth. According to the eighteenth century view, operas are supposed to be a sublime and an aggrandizing art. The elevated subject matter is then chosen in order to venerate and honor the nobility. It’s purpose is to “celebrate the eternal in man'; says Van Swieten (2,4). Meaning that there is an element in a noble person that lasts without any end, like God who is immortal. God represents the everlasting and the eternality of existence, thus God gives inspiration to operas that...
He was a great young composer that transformed into a genius that was able to write music in the short periods of time he had during the day and was able to rewrite the musical rules. After being very successful in his early years, Mozart grew little older and started looking at things in a bigger picture. He tried to fit in on many different things including languages of others. The “Magic Flute” that was written at the end of his short life is known as the ultimate expression of Mozart’s ambition to connect with the human life and the human emotion through music as well as theater. At 25 years old, Mozart is no longer a prodigy but has not proved to be an amateur composer. In Provincial Salzburg is where Mozart is still living with his father and sister. Mozart is going to Munich because they have commissioned him to write an Italian opera in a serious style. Mozart’s father said he gave Wolfgang the advice to never neglect the popular style for the unmusical public as the musical ones. Leopold agreed to be Mozart’s middle man between the poets but he didn’t know that this would be his last detailed involvement in one of Mozart’s projects. Mozart’s father said they worked every day on the poems but Mozart was determined about something totally different than his father. He had problems with everything his father done. Whether it was too long or not dramatic enough, it would never suit his needs. His
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was undoubtedly one of the greatest composers of not only the classical era, but of all time. On January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was born into an already musically talented family. His father Leopold, a composer and musician, and sister Nannerl toured parts of Europe giving many successful performances, including some before royalty. At the young age of 17, Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court. It was there that young Mozart composed two successful operas: “Mitridate” and “Lucio Silla”. In 1981 he was dismissed from his position at the Salzburg Court. He went on to compose over 600 works including 27 piano Concertos, 18 Masses (including his most famous, the Requiem), and 17 piano sonatas. Mozart was not often known for having radical form or harmonic innovation but rather, most of his music had a natural flow, repetition and simple harmonic structure.
Mozart became ill suffering from headaches and fever for several months. Mozart was under the illusion that he was to write music for his funeral.
The 1984 film Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman, told the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart story in such a way that an individual watching more than likely would have never imagined such a brilliant musician’s life having been the way it was portrayed in the film. When many people think of Mozart today, the thought of his skill to compose musical masterpieces is probably the first of many things to come to mind – his work speaks for itself; Mozart’s operas and symphonies are beautiful, so comparing it to the eighteenth century Classical era, Mozart’s work had to have been much loved and appreciated, right? Well, according to Amadeus, this was not necessarily the case.